Stompin' at the Savoy: The Original Indie Label, 1944 - 1961

This four-disc overview of Savoy Records masterful achievement in issuing jump blues, R&B, doo wop, and proto-rock and soul records is one handsome collection. There are 84 tracks spanning the years 1944 (two years after Savoy went into business) and ending in 1961. While the majority of cuts were originally issued on Savoy, there are more than a few that come form one of Savoy’s acquisitions — of National in 1957. Here, the relative unknowns, such as Miss Sharecropper, the Dreams, and Chuz Alfred are side by side with Hot Lips Page, Billy Eckstine, Joe Turner, Doc Pomus, Wild Bill Moore, Nappy Brown, Jimmy Scott, and Big Maybelle just to mention a few. The first three discs here are arranged from 1944-’47, 1948-’51 1951-’55, 1955-’61 and are governed simply by subjective selection. The remastered sound is fine, warm and true and the liners annotate each track in detail. Savoy has been issuing compilation CDs for a long time now, but they’ve never done anything as fine as this — especially for the budget price. – Thom Jurek